Ice cream makers use it combat the effects of too much water in their ice cream base. Milk is almost 90 percent water, and heavy cream is about 60 percent water. You need water to freeze your ice cream, but too much water will freeze into itty-bitty ice cream crystals… and your ice cream will be icy and grainy, not smooth and creamy. Skim milk powder absorbs excess water and givers a milkier, creamier flavor.

You can buy bags of skim or nonfat dry milk powder in stores for around four bucks, so it’s a worthy investment if you like to make ice cream at home. If you don’t have to share your dessert with children, a little bit of booze can help too.

Nutella is a tasty treat. So tasty you might wish you could sprinkle it all over everything. With a little maltodextrin, you can.

Maltodextrin is a starch and food additive that’s used to thicken a lot of commercial products like reduced fat peanut butter, candy, and even some beer. Hikers also use it to make messy foods easier to transport, and it does a pretty good job of making sure butter melts in your mouth and not on your popcorn. Over at Instructables, user Scottbus wanted to take his snacks and desserts to the next level, so he created his own powdered Nutella he could sprinkle on anything. Combine some maltodextrin with some Nutella at a ratio of 60/40 and it will dry out to a crumbly powdered form. Now you can sprinkle it on ice cream, baked goods, and even peanut butter sandwiches.

Keep in mind, the powdered version of Nutella isn’t any healthier than regular Nutella. Scottbus suggests, however, that you use maltodextrin made from tapioca because it’s non-GMO and gluten-free. To learn more, you can find the complete instructions at the link below.